Thetford Priory is a

Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...

monastic house in

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England. Founded in 1103 by

Roger Bigod of Norfolk Roger Bigod (died 1107) was a Norman knight who travelled to England in the Norman Conquest. He held great power in East Anglia, and five of his descendants were Earl of Norfolk, earls of Norfolk. He was also known as Roger Bigot, appearing as su ...

, Thetford was one of the most important monasteries of

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

. It should not be confused with the Dominican Priory of

Blackfriars, Thetford Blackfriars, Thetford was a priory in Norfolk, England, which belonged to the Dominican Order. It was one of several religious houses in Thetford closed at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The site is now occupied by Thetford Gra ...

that later became part of

Thetford Grammar School Thetford Grammar School is a private co-educational day school in Thetford, Norfolk, England. The school possibly dates back to the 7th century, which would make it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. History The school website c ...

, or with

St. George's Priory, Thetford St. George's Priory, Thetford was a Benedictine priory on the Suffolk side of Thetford, England. It was located at the current site of the British Trust for Ornithology, South of Nuns Bridges Road.River Little Ouse The River Little Ouse, also known as the Brandon River, is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to ...

, was at first selected as the church of the new priory, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. A cloister or cells of woodwork were erected for the accommodation of the monks, and

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

from the

Priory of St Pancras Lewes Priory is a part-demolished medieval Cluniac priory in Lewes, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The ruins have been designated a Grade I listed building. History The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had ...

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

arrived in 1104."Houses of Cluniac monks: The priory of St Mary, Thetford.", ''A History of the County of Norfolk'' Volume 2. (William Page, ed.) London: Victoria County History, 1906. 363-369. British History Online. 2 September 2022
/ref> Three years later, a new prior realized that the monastic site, surrounded by the houses of the burghers, was inconveniently overcrowded, with no room for a guest-house. Bigod then gave them a pleasant and open site on the other side of the river in the county of Norfolk. The monks relocated to their new premises on

St. Martin's Day Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas (obsolete: Martlemas), and historically called Old Halloween or All Hallows Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early mod ...

, 1114. In the 13th century, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

to locals requesting the addition to the site of a

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

. During its construction, an old statue of her from their former site was discovered to have a hollow in its head concealing saints'

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s, and became a magnet for pilgrims. In a 1390 visitation, visitors from Cluny found that there were then twenty-two monks; six daily masses, three of which were sung; and that tenth part of the bread was reserved for distribution to the poor. The visitors found that all monastic obligations according to the Cluny rule were duly observed. During the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a formal complaint was raised by the Mayors and burgesses of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

in 1539, arguing that many of the town's inhabitants would fall into extreme poverty because their livelihoods depended on pilgrims visiting the priory.

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

rejected a plan proposed by

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was an English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beh ...

to convert the priory into a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

. The dean was to be Prior William, and the six prebendaries and eight secular canons were to be the monks of the former house. Thetford Priory was closed down in 1540 and fell into the possession of the Duke of Norfolk.

Description

It housed the tombs of the Howard dynasty, of

Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (c. 15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536) was the son of Henry VIII of England and his mistress Elizabeth Blount, and the only child born out of wedlock whom Henry acknowledged. He was the younger ...

, and of other early

Tudor Dynasty The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Eng ...

officials. Even this could not save the priory from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and, on its closure in 1540 (it was one of the last priories to be dissolved), the Howard tombs were removed to St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham, close to the family's

Framlingham Castle Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham, Suffolk, England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed (Slighting, slighted) by Henry II of Engl ...

. The Prior’s Lodging was converted into a house which was occupied until the early 18th century."Tudors and Jacobeans", Thetford Town Council
/ref> Its ruins (including the lower walls of the church and cloister, along with the impressive shell of the priors' lodging and, reached by a pathway from the main site, an almost complete 14th-century gatehouse) are open to the public as an

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

site. The priory and gatehouse are Grade I listed buildings. The ruins are reputedly haunted and were the subject of an episode of the television series '' Ghosthunters''.

Priors

* Malgod, appointed 1104 * Stephen, appointed 1107 * Constantine, occurs 1131 * Martin, occurs 1189 * Peter Vincent, occurs 1202 * Richard, occurs 1226, died c. 1236 (fn. 59) * Stephen II, occurs 1240, killed 1248 (fn. 61) * William I, occurs 1262 * Vincent, occurs 1279, died c. 1300 (fn. 64) * Reginald de Montargi alias de Eye, elected c. 1300 * Ralph de Frezenfeld, appointed 1302 * Thomas Bigod, appointed 1304 * William de Ventodoro, appointed 1308 * Martin de Rinhiaco, appointed 1311 * Peter de Bosco, appointed 1316 * James de Cusancia, occurs 1336 * Geoffrey de Rochario, occurs 1355 * Roger de Berton, occurs 1370 * John de Fordham, occurs 1372, 1395 * John Ixworth, appointed c. 1400 * Nicholas, appointed 1430 * John Vesey, appointed 1438 * Robert Weting, appointed 1480 * Roger Baldry de Bermingham, appointed 1503 * William Ixworth, appointed 1518, last prior.

Local context

The

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

, another Grade I listed building, and originally part of another medieval monastery, is 300 metres to the south, directly across the

River Little Ouse The River Little Ouse, also known as the Brandon River, is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to ...

Burials

* Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk *

Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk Roger Bigod ( – 1221) was the son of Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk and his first wife, Juliana de Vere. Although his father died in 1176 or 1177, Roger did not succeed to the earldom of Norfolk until 1189 for his claim had been disputed ...

John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk , also known as Jack of Norfolk, (22 August 1485), was an English nobleman, soldier, politician, and the first Howard Duke of Norfolk. He was a close friend and loyal supporter of King Richard III, with whom h ...

(originally buried here) *

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English people, English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John ...

(originally buried here) *

Anne of York (daughter of Edward IV) Anne of York (2 November 1475 – 23 November 1511) was the fifth daughter of King Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville. Soon after the death of her father and the usurpation of the throne by her uncle Richard III, An ...

(originally buried here) * John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk *

Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (c. 15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536) was the son of Henry VIII of England and his mistress Elizabeth Blount, and the only child born out of wedlock whom Henry acknowledged. He was the younger ...

(originally buried here)

References

External links

History of Thetford Priory at English Heritage
{{Authority control Monasteries in Norfolk Cluniac monasteries in England English Heritage sites in Norfolk Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk Christian monasteries established in the 1100s 1103 establishments in England 1530s disestablishments in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation Thetford